Outsourcing ironing and cleaning - how to organise ourselves

[Doingthingsdifferently]

Bit of pathetic request for help and I am embarrassed to ask, but we are living in chaos with two busy jobs and two messy kids. I want to get a cleaner and outsource ironing and I am trying to get my tired and stressed head around how to do this effectively.

If you do this, how do you organise your week to be ready for the ironing pick up - do you have two sets of clothes or have a washing day - what works?

For the cleaner - what routine works for you (4 bed / 2 bath house) and do you do a pre-clean?

All tips very welcome!

I tidy up before the cleaner gets here but don't clean - she can't clean if there's stuff all over the place.
The rule with the children is that their room will be cleaned if it's tidy but left if it isn't. I usually check before I leave for work.
Once you get in the habit of putting stuff away/keeping the place tidy it becomes easier and a habit.

I am a cleaner. As pp has already said, tidy before the cleaner comes. It takes up a huge chunk of the time to tidy a house before I can clean. Same with washing up/drying up/ finding which cupboard to put it away in... all takes time away from cleaning.
Cluttered homes take much more time to clean, so try and declutter. Kitchens with loads of things on the worktop take more time to clean.
You can either ask for specific jobs to be done or, when you get to know the cleaner, just leave it to her to do what she thinks needs doing. Most of my clients fall into the second category- they leave it to be so they don't have to even think about it. I have also had clients I iron for as well. If your cleaner does this, essentials here are plentiful hangers. A handy plug socket/ extension lead, a jug for water refills and something to hang the ironed clothes on!(Rail/airer etc)

Thanks for the great advice - I think I may need to de clutter first to make it easier to clean.

Don't start doing a pre-clean, that way madness lies. Anything you can do to have the place tidy is worth doing, so the cleaner can get in and clean.

Start with having a place for everything and everything in its place.

Then implement the rule 'don't put it down, put it away' and make everyone stick to it.

To send out ironing, yes, you need enough of whatever is sent out, to last until the ironing comes back, plus a bit of overlap for emergencies.

Get started in the holidays so you are up and running when term starts again. Enjoy

I have a cleaner and an ironing service.

As others have said, I tidy before cleaner comes ( I'm naturally tidy, so.it's no big effort).

With the ironing service, I text them the day I have ironing to pick up. They usually pick up the same day. Or the day after. Again, no issue.
My cleaner is £24 per week for two hours every week.

The ironing service is anything between £9 and £13 every couple of weeks.

I love both ser

Cleaner here..
I also iron in my customer's homes...
Win win.
No need to tidy but do write a list!

Can you a cleaner that will also do the ironing? My mum does this for a couple of the families she works for. It might have to be independent instead of through a company, but there surely must be people out there happy to offer this service on top of cleaning? It might mean an extra hour every session (twice-weekly?), but the clothes never leave your house and you know they're always there, ironed or not ironed. In an emergency you can just grab them or iron a single school shirt.

My house could be cleaned in 3 hours. I pay for 4 hours so the cleaner has time to change all the beds, empty the dishwasher and hang a load of washing out from the machine. I get the children to clear their floors on Sunday evening so the cleaner can see them to hoover on Monday.

My cleaner also does the ironing, changes the sheets and hangs out non-clothes washing if I have left it in the machine. If I were to change one thing I would find a cleaner who was also happy to hang any load of washing out as well.

I tidy before she comes, which is a big effort as I am v untidy but it's also a good effort because it forces me to keep the house semi acceptable.

You might feel like you don’t have time to do this @Doingthingsdifferently but having a big declutter first will be a huge help. The Marie Kondo book is a quick read & it helps you to declutter easily. It will then be much easier for you and the cleaner to keep on top of it.

@EileenGC thanks, this is a great suggestion - I will look for a cleaner who will iron.

Yes I think we will pay for a bit longer to get more done - I was worried it would just be a quick hoover and bathroom clean and I need more help than that - brilliant thank you all!

Cleaner is here for 3 hours and is left to get on with it unless I have something specific.

The house is tidied before she comes and is under strict instructions not to tidy the children’s rooms just clean as I don’t want them to get used to someone else picking up after them.

Ironing is every couple of weeks but kept for stuff that’s a bit of a pain to do, like shirts.

Love having both as it means that the house only needs a quick clean at the weekend so more family time.